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  • FBI Warns Voters on Election Crimes Ahead of the November 2022 Midterm Election

    Free and fair democratic elections are one of the founding pillars of the United States. The FBI is committed to protecting every eligible citizen’s right to vote. Consistent with past practice, the FBI is providing this information to educate voters about Federal election crimes and how to avoid them, and to encourage voters to report suspected violations to your local FBI field office.

    Election Crimes

    Election crimes threaten the integrity of elections and undermine public confidence in our democracy. Election crimes fall into broad categories:

    Ballot/voter fraud

    Campaign finance violations

    Civil rights violations, such as voter suppression or voter intimidation

    While individual states and localities have the constitutional authority and responsibility to manage their own elections and election laws, an election crime becomes a federal crime when one or more of the following occurs:

    A ballot includes one or more Federal candidates

    Election or polling place officials abuse their office

    The conduct involves false voter registration

    The crime is motivated by hostility toward protected minority groups

    The activity violates federal campaign finance law

    Examples of Federal election crimes include, but are not limited to:

    Giving false information when registering to vote

    Voting more than once

    Changing ballot markings or otherwise tampering with ballots

    Vote buying

    Threatening voters with physical or financial harm

    Intentionally lying about the time, manner, or place of an election to prevent qualified voters from voting

    Political fundraising by federal employees

    Campaign contributions above legal limits

    Conduit contributions/straw donor schemes

    Contributions from foreign or other prohibited sources

    Use of campaign funds for personal or unauthorized purposes

    Distinguishing between legal and criminal conduct is critical for ensuring the integrity of U.S. elections. The following activities are not federal election crimes:

    Giving voters rides to the polls or time off to vote

    Offering voters a stamp to mail a ballot

    Making false claims about oneself or another candidate

    Forging or faking nominating petitions

    Campaigning too close to polling places

    Honest mistakes by poll workers

    Lack of immediate election results while ballots are counted

    The FBI plays an important role in preventing violations of your constitutional rights, including your right to vote. Report any instances of potential election crimes to your local FBI field office, and ask to speak to an election crimes coordinator.

    Voter Suppression

    Intentionally deceiving qualified voters to prevent them from voting is voter suppression—and it is a federal crime.

    There are various methods which can be used to spread disinformation about voting. Such methods are social media platforms, texting, or peer-to-peer messaging applications on smartphones. Additionally, bad actors may provide misleading information about the time, manner and place of voting. This includes inaccurate election dates or false claims about voting methods like, voting by text, which is not allowed in any jurisdiction.

    Do you know when, where, and how you will vote? If not, there are many reputable places you can find this information, including eac.gov and usa.gov/how-to-vote. However, not all publicly available voting information is accurate, and some is deliberately designed to deceive you in order to suppress turnout.

    Always consider the source of voting information. Ask yourself, “Can I trust this information?” Look for official notices from election offices and verify the information you found is accurate.

    Help defend the right to vote by reporting any suspected instances of voter suppression—especially those received through a private communication channel like texting—to your local FBI field office and ask to speak to an election crimes coordinator.

    Scam PACs

    Making political contributions can be a powerful way to exercise your First Amendment rights. But some individuals and groups soliciting contributions are bad actors trying to enrich themselves at your expense.

    In every election cycle there are billions of dollars invested in political spending. This attracts criminals who use deception to cheat Americans out of their hard-earned money. The FBI assesses that seniors are at a high risk of being targeted.

    Scam PACs are fraudulent political action committees designed to reroute political contributions for personal financial gain. This is a federal crime. Signs that a PAC is a scam include the PAC and its website disappearing, and the phone number going out of service.

    If you or someone you know has been targeted by a scam PAC, contact your local FBI field office and ask to speak to an election crimes coordinator.

    How to Protect Your Vote

    Know when, where, and how you will vote.

    Seek out election information from trustworthy sources, verify who produced the content, and consider their intent.

    Report potential election crimes—such as disinformation about the manner, time, or place of voting—to the FBI.

    If appropriate, make use of in-platform tools offered by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about voting and elections.

    Research individuals and entities to whom you are making political donations. If something seems suspicious, reconsider the donation.  
     

    Victim Reporting and Additional Information

    The FBI encourages the public to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local FBI field office. For additional election-related assistance and resources, please visit the following FBI webpages:

    Election Crimes and Security

    Protected Voices

    Source-FBI

  • Endorsements-Nigerian Workers Be Vigilant-Ex-Officio TUC

    Democratic 1The divided tones of labor leaders in Nigeria as the 2023 general elections approaches has been described as a dangerous signal for workers in the country.

    This assertion was made recently by an Ex-Officio of the Oyo state council of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), who is a former chairman of the union in the state, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

    ''Why should labor leaders be singing discordant tunes? Selfish interests, of course, are dangerous for Nigerian workers, and the proliferation of endorsements can lead to a divided labor movement in Nigeria. Workers should be vigilant,'' Comrade Emelieze stated.

  • Growing in Our Faith

    HebrewsMeeting together with other believers, ensures that we honor the Lord, grow in our faith, and give a strong witness to the world.

    Hebrews 10 : 19-25

    19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

  • Bribery-Former FBI Agent Docked

         LOS ANGELES – A Bay Area man and former FBI special agent was found guilty today by a federal jury of conspiring to accept at least $150,000 in cash bribes and other items of value in exchange for providing sensitive law enforcement information to a corrupt lawyer with ties to Armenian organized crime.

              Babak Broumand, 56, of Lafayette, California, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of bribery of a public official, and one count of monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

              United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner scheduled a January 30, 2023 sentencing hearing, at which time Broumand will face statutory maximum sentences of 15 years in federal prison for each bribery count, 10 years in federal prison for each unlawful monetary transactions count, and five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count.

              Judge Klausner ordered Broumand remanded into federal custody.

              Broumand, an FBI special agent from January 1999 until shortly after search warrants were served on his home and businesses in 2018, was responsible for national security investigations and was assigned to the FBI Field Office in San Francisco.

              According to evidence presented at his 11-day trial, from January 2015 to December 2018, Broumand accepted cash, checks, private jet flights, a Ducati motorcycle, hotel stays, escorts, meals, and other items of value from an organized crime-linked lawyer – identified in court papers as “E.S” and each man acted to conceal the true nature of their corrupt relationship.

              In return for the bribe payments and other items of value, Broumand conducted law enforcement database inquiries and used those inquiries to help E.S. and his associates avoid prosecution and law enforcement monitoring. Specifically, Broumand informed E.S. whether a particular person or entity was under criminal investigation by stating that E.S. should “stay away” from that person or that they were “OK.”

              To conceal the nature of their corrupt relationship, Broumand made it falsely appear that E.S. was working as an FBI source. Broumand wrote reports after the fact to make it falsely appear that he conducted legitimate law enforcement database inquiries.

              In exchange for the illegal inquiries, E.S. paid Broumand at least $150,000 in cash and check bribes, including a Ducati motorcycle and accessories valued at more than $36,000. The bribes were deposited into the accounts for Love Bugs LLC, a Lafayette-based lice-removal hair salon business that Broumand and his wife started in 2007.

              Soon after the bribery scheme began, E.S. asked Broumand to query the FBI database for Levon Termendzhyan, an Armenian organized crime figure for whom E.S. had worked. The database search “rang all the bells” and revealed an FBI investigation in Los Angeles, according to court documents, which note that Broumand accessed the FBI case file on Termendzhyan repeatedly in January 2015. Broumand also allegedly accessed the Termendzhyan FBI case file in May 2016.

              Termendzhyan, a.k.a. “Lev Aslan Dermen,” was found guilty in March 2020 in federal court in Utah on criminal charges related to a $1 billion renewable fuel tax credit fraud scheme. He awaits sentencing.

              In December 2015, at E.S.’s request, Broumand searched a confidential FBI database for information about Sam Sarkis Solakyan, a medical imaging companies CEO, and later warned E.S. to “stay away” from Solakyan, who was “trouble,” meaning that Solakyan was under law enforcement investigation. Solakyan eventually was charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to five years in federal prison for running a scheme that submitted more than $250 million fraudulent claims through California’s workers compensation system.

              In May 2016, Broumand interfered with an FBI investigation into Felix Cisneros Jr., a corrupt special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who also had ties to Termendzhyan. Cisneros was convicted at trial in two different cases. The first trial, in 2018, resulted from Cisneros’s corrupt acts for Termendzhyan. The second trial, earlier this year, resulted from Cisneros’ corrupt acts for E.S. Cisneros is scheduled for sentencing on October 17.

              “Ensuring public confidence in those who investigate and enforce the law is paramount,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “By taking bribes and gifts from a person he knew was linked to organized crime, Mr. Broumand breached the public trust placed in him and violated his oath of office, something which simply cannot be tolerated. The FBI’s agents and staff work tirelessly every day to keep us safe, and I am proud that they partnered with our Office to ferret out this corruption.”

              “The conviction of Mr. Broumand, a veteran FBI agent who chose greed over integrity and turned his back on the oath he swore to uphold, is proof that the FBI will root out corruption of any kind, to include veteran agents within its ranks,” said Don Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “This prosecution was the result of hard work by multiple partner agencies to work through the painful truth of having to investigate one of its own.”

              “Broumand conspired with the very types of criminals he was trusted to investigate. Today’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that no one is above the law, and any Department of Justice employee who participates in these types of schemes will be brought to justice,” said Zachary Shroyer, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Los Angeles Field Office.

              “All of us in law enforcement are held to a higher standard and this is no exception,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson. “The American public places high expectations on law enforcement to uphold and defend the law. While today is a blemish in our community as Babak Broumand, a former FBI Agent, was found guilty for conspiring, bribery, and money laundering; I want to emphasize and highlight the exceptional professionalism, integrity and dedication demonstrated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents, the Office of Inspector General, DOJ, the United States Attorney’s Office – CDCA, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, for their commitment to upholding the law and seeing that justice is sought in all cases regardless of a person’s affiliation. I want to thank our partners for entrusting us with this investigation, and hope that the American public sees our efforts as an example of what the good men and women in law enforcement represent.”

              The jury today also found Broumand not guilty of one count of bribery of a public official and one count of monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

              The FBI, the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter and were assisted at trial by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General.

              Assistant United States Attorney Ruth C. Pinkel of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Morse and Juan M. Rodríguez of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

    Source-FBI

  • Report Unbecoming Behavior of Officers and Men-Customs PRO to Nigerians

    Nigerians have been called upon to report any negative observations about officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service for prompt action.

    This call was made by the Public Relations Officer(PRO) of the Oyo /Osun Command of the service, Mr. Kayode Wey. ''To the public, if they have observed any unbecoming behavior of officers and men, they should forward a proper report to the command. The command will investigate and do what is necessary. Men and officers have been trained to abide by the rules laid before them.

    Mr Wey also disclosed that the command had zero tolerance for indiscipline saying, ''the commander ensures that our emblems, uniforms, souvenirs are not sold to unauthorized persons and those who cannot identify themselves with their identity cards. The Customs Police Unit have very effective in their investigations to nip unfortunate circumstance in the bud.

  • Technical Education for Technology Advancement : A Veritable Tool for Nation Building by Pro. Sabitu Olagoke

    Prof 7Unfortunately for Nigeria's basic education, there is a dearth of facility to drive Technical Education for our students to be technically sound to meet up with the challenges of technology advancement that drives the present ady knowledge economy.

    Technical education drives the economy of all nations currently, but for Nigeria, our economy is artisan driven to the detriment of our political management which b y polarization is hoodlum driven, exposing us to the whims of quackery in all facets of huma endeavor.

    This is because of the deficiency of meeting up with the quality and standard expected of every nation in domesticating international instrumnets on global best practices. Quackery and sysem collapse during or after completion has direct correlation based on facility design, specification and materials of inferior quality.

    Education must prepare our students for the global market. In Nigeria, education is highly underfunded and has resulted in the myriad of challenges confronting the country presently.

    1)We fail to operationalize the affective domain, producin g literature that are deficient content that can inspire change for the better.

    2)we blindly commercialize education to the detriment of effecting a cognitive domain that would have launched us into research appreciation for development.

    3)We equally neglect the area of pyschomotor domain to produce graduates of rhetoric in the face of the challenges of desing and construction for infrastrcuturer and real development.

    4)Our science lack the intellectual and practical ability of observation, mehtod, procedure and experiment for systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural word to the detriment of our benefit.

    5)Our engineering lakc home patronage of our graduates for employability challenge of desing, building that are mathematics driven for our graduates to use with relative ease, enignes, machines and structure with retraing through foreign partners.

    6)Wile our technology lacks fulk technical education to develop products and produce for the nation due to poor scientific knowledge base to the detriment of right application to change or transform our society for right and correct management of the people and environment.

    The whole world,today, goes for quality and standard concept with global best practices. Graduates are trained to be abl;e to compete favorably in the global market.

    Where are we in the situation of hoodlum hijacked politics/ democracy and artisan driven economy?

    Professionals must be respected to have regard for orgainzational and professional ethics for sanity sake and must equally be respected to be part of decision making for ease of implementation by the government, which must adequately fund education.

    The fellows are not effectively utilized by the government while the artisans are not incorporated despite creating a viilage for them. Fellows need to be consulted for services while the orientation of teh artisans need to be changed through short term proficiency courses to benefit the nation.

  • Motivate the Workforce-NASU UCH Chairman to Govt

    Work 1The Federal Government has been charged with motivating its workforce as a step towards ensuring high productivity. This charge was given on Monday by the Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions(NASU),University College Hospital(UCH)branch, Ibadan, Comrade Kehinde Abiona.

    ''The Federal Government should do the needful when it comes to the motivation of its workforce. The government should also make the work environment conducive. But sadly, gardeners still make provisions for provisions, cutlasses them, they buy it themselves. Medical laboratory staff make do with outdated equipment, the same goes for those in accounts, who still apply old methods,,'' Comrade Abiona stated.

    He advised members of the union to be contented with their present situation, saying, '' take things easy, don't expect too much, accept what life brings to you and make do with what nature allows you to achieve in life''.

    Comrade Abiona appealed to the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibilities, adding,'' we were assured that we would receive the new hazard allowance in January 2022. That is September. We have yet to receive it, we have continued to borrow to sustain our families.''

    Similarly, members of NASU at the University of Ibadan have condemned the decision of the Federal Government not to pay them for the period that they were on strike.

    They made this position known through their chairman, Comrade Malachy Etim. ''Despite the fact that we fulfilled all the processes before proceeding on strike and despite the fact that we have called off the strike and have since resumed work, the Federal Government is still insisting that it would implement the No Work No Pay rule. This is condemnable. The government is still holding on to our salaries. This is inhuman and insensitive.''

    In the same vein, a former Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Universities(SSANU), Western zone, Comrade Alfred Jimoh advised the government to desist from inducing strike actions, saying, ''human beings are not made for law, law is made for human beings. The Federal Government should apply the law with a human face. Even though we have called off the strike, the government is still holding on to our salaries. How does the government want us to continue working when there is no money?''

    In a related development, members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria(ASCSN) have again called on law enforcement agencies to put an end to the cases of corruption going on in the union.

    The concerned members lamented,''we bring to your notice some of the challenges confronting us. Deductions have been made from our salaries by our union and there is nothing to show for it. The rising high cost of living and inflation that we are experiencing in Nigeria HAS NOT HELPED MATTERS. It has been extremely very difficult for us to make ends meet and, as such, workers have gone borrowing. Kindly look into the account of ASCSN.''

  • Leadership and Governance by Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

    ImagesOrganization and professional ethics are important elements of governance or corporate governance.

    The elite now trample upon the Fundamental Human Rights of the impoverished masses, who have become mere pawns in their(elite) hands for the ease of manipulation to win elections.

    The present dividends of democracy include insecurity, poverty aggravation due to unemployment and high prices of commodities beyond the reach of the teeming population, avarice and greed exemplified through the blood of Timocracy running through the system of our politicians driving them crazy into Kleptocrarcy and deceptive plea bargaining; increasing the fold of cabal, cartel and the vicious cycle of the corrupt people's clubs in Nigeria.

    In all processes involving governance, leadership by appointment, promotion or election, the effective participation of the people matters at all levels of identification, selection, and electoral processes involving voters' registration and the collection of the Permanent Voters Cards(PVC), party manifesto, campaign training and the voting exercise and monitoring, election results, collation of results and the declaration of results.

    The aftermath of this continues to call for effective participation of people in keeping the environment of peace for ease of governance.

    Leaders must be above the parochial sentiments of statism, ethnicity, tribalism, ego-centeredness, materialism, but be spiritually rejuvenated in due process without religious bigotry in dispensing power and service.

    Governance and leadership cuts across all systems for idea and product generation for the purpose of enhancing productivity and sustainable development. Whatever your professional discipline- religion, politics, media practice, broadcasting, business or entrepreneurship, entertainment, medicine, engineering etc.

    We must all be skillful as professionals for us to be able to serve with ethical guidance that will eventually give competence in leadership and credence to due process in governance.

    This will equally enhance effective participation of people for a better society. Leaders must be prepared and trained through the agents of socialization-the home, school, vocation and right empowerment.

    Our educational orientation must be geared towards realizing this for leaders with all authority and confidence to be on the field when challenged to assume office and with outstanding and credible performance.

    However, when we take for granted leadership training needs by allowing people to assume leadership duties, roles and responsibilities, they will lack the ethics and procedures of due process to end up disappointing the people in the discharge of his or her duties, as would be evident in the lack of the rudiment of Management, Administration and Governance.

    Corporate governance under democratic norms is, therefore, recommended since it will instill discipline to enhance efficiency in productivity with high goodwill of peace and sustainable development in an environment that is safe and secured where nobody is denied of his/her right of access and right of justice.

    Prof. Olagoke delivered this paper on Wednesday September 7, 2022 at the Jagaban Commincations Internaitonal 2022 Mega International Summit in Ibadan

  • Elect a Leader that shall cater for Poor Nigerians-Prophet Arabambi

    Nigerians have been advised to elect a leader that shall cater for the needs and expectations of poor Nigerians in the 2023 general elections.

    This advice was given on Wednesday by the General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church(CAC)Worldwide, Reformation land, Ile-Atunse, Ibadan, Prophet Timothy Abass Arabambi at an event tagged 2022 Mega International Summit in Ibadan, Nigeria.

    ''Nigerians should vote in a leader that would carry everyone along. A leader that would lead by example, a leader that would take good care of poor Nigerians. Mu advice to politicians, let them move closer to God for all to be well,'' Prophet Arabambi concluded.

  • Nigeria needs a Selfless President-Dr. Farounbi

    A former ambassador to the Philippines, Dr.Yemi Farounbi has declared that Nigeria urgently needs a President that is conversant with the needs and expectations of Nigerians.

    Dr. Farounbi made this declaration on Wednesday at an even tagged 2022 Mega International Summit in Ibadan, Nigeria.

    ''A leader ought to prepare his country for the challenges ahead. The leader must be creative and visionary and must have his legs on ground. But when your leader travels by helicopter or aeroplane, he does not know hunger, he does not know poverty because his feet is not on ground, he does not also know the fate of the poor.'' ''What kind of President do we need in 2023? What re the problems the President must solve? We need a well educated and rounded person, it is not whether it is my turn or your turn, it is not whether it has been my life time ambition. Can you solve the problem of electricity? Can you solve the problem of education? Can you change the mentality of the education administrators? Do you have intellectual resilience? It is not whether I have been competing since 1992; it is not every leader that is good at implementation, competence is very important. He called for the restoration of family values, while lamenting that,''family values in Nigeria have broken down, we need spiritual regeneration and the restoration of family values.''

  • Reject Doubt

    Holding onto God's word is faith

    Matthew 14 : 22-32

    22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

  • God shall Enable you

    The Lord has made effective leaders and teachers of people who never envisaged that they would,ouucpy leadership positions.

    Judges 6: 1-6

    6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of lMidian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and mthe caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and nthe Amalekites and othe people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them pand devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come qlike locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel rcried out for help to the Lord.''

  • The Potency of Prayers

    Consistent prayers and supplications move mountains.

    Matthew 26 : 36-46 36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.''

  • The Stakeholders for A Secured Future by Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

    Prof 6The government and every proprietor must invest heavily in the functional education of our children despite the current trend of development that dwells on global competitiveness and global best practices through such orientation, which will give learners and graduates of every school a wider view of the world where peace and development will dominate a purposeful educational goal.

    To be able to achieve the above-mentioned updates, facility updates and security issues must be pursued with high assurance of a safe environment for the teachers and the children, including the young. It is sacrosanct to the provision of a conducive environment for learning through adequate funding, total quality assurance and standard attainment. Policy designs on these must be implemented now for a better Nigeria. The stakeholders including parents, government at all levels, schools, students, alumni associations, the media and others must walk the talk on the education enhancement needs without any delay for a better future. Let us realize that the goal of accreditation exercises for various disciplines in our schools and the global exercises for universities across the board is for education not to lose its focus objectives, quality and standards. Working towards achieving this is a challenging task for all nations. Alumni associations of schools must rise up to support the reinforcement needs of our schools for adequate funding to provide for facility updates, and motivate the teachers/lecturers for Nigerian schools to compete well with their counterparts abroad. Afterall, the nation will benefit better if schools are able to provide thoroughbred graduates that are well disicplined with passion to provide for the need of the people for opeace and development to give us safe and secured environment. Above all, let us motivate our teachers to walk the talk to promote knowledge economy. Let us jointly secure the future of our nation, Nigeria.

    Prof. Olagoke delivered this lecture at the Shafudeen Group of Schools end of year 2021/2022 Academic Session party and 8th Valedictory sercvice

  • Russian Charged with Conspiracy

    Russian National Charged With Conspiring To Have U.S. Citizens Act As Illegal Agents Of The Russian Government

    WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed today in Tampa, Florida, charging a Russian national, working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), with allegedly orchestrating a years-long foreign malign influence campaign that used various U.S. political groups to sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda, and interfere in elections within the United States.

    As alleged in the indictment, from at least December 2014 until March 2022, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a resident of Moscow, together with at least three Russian officials, engaged in a years-long foreign malign influence campaign targeting the United States. Ionov is the founder and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), an organization headquartered in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. Ionov utilized AGMR to carry out Russia’s influence campaign.

    “As court documents show, Ionov allegedly orchestrated a brazen influence campaign, turning U.S. political groups and U.S. citizens into instruments of the Russian government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will not allow Russia to unlawfully sow division and spread misinformation inside the United States.”

    According to the indictment, Ionov — working under the supervision of the FSB and with the Russian government’s support — recruited political groups within the United States, including U.S. Political Group 1 in Florida, U.S. Political Group 2 in Georgia, and U.S. Political Group 3 in California, and exercised direction or control over them on behalf of the FSB. Specifically, Ionov provided financial support to these groups, directed them to publish pro-Russian propaganda, coordinated and funded direct action by these groups within the United States intended to further Russian interests, and coordinated coverage of this activity in Russian media outlets. Ionov also relayed detailed information about this influence campaign to three FSB officials.

    “Secret foreign government efforts to influence American elections and political groups threaten our democracy by spreading misinformation, distrust and mayhem,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The department is committed to ensuring U.S. laws protecting transparency in the electoral process and the political system are not undermined through foreign malign influence.”

    According to the indictment, Ionov allegedly targeted U.S. Political Group 1 based in St. Petersburg, Florida. In May 2015, Ionov funded an all-expense paid trip to Russia for the leader of U.S. Political Group 1 (Unindicted Co-Conspirator-1, UIC-1) in order to “communicate on future cooperation” between U.S. Political Group 1 and AGMR. Following that trip, and for at least the next seven years, Ionov exercised direction and control over senior members of U.S. Political Group 1.

    “The prosecution of this criminal conduct is essential to protecting the American public when foreign governments seek to inject themselves into the American political process,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI to investigate these events, and we will continue to follow the evidence to ensure justice is done.”

    Early in the conspiracy, senior members of U.S. Political Group 1, UIC-1, UIC-2, and UIC-3 exchanged emails about the fact that Ionov was working on behalf of the Russian Government. For example, in September 2015, Ionov paid for UIC-1 to attend an AGMR-sponsored “Dialogue of Nations” conference in Moscow. Upon his return to Florida, UIC-1 reported to the leadership of U.S. Political Group 1 that AGMR is “a solid institution of Russian politic,” and that it was “clear” that AGMR was “an instrument of [the] Russian government,” which, UIC-1 wrote, did not “disturb us.” The following week, in an email discussion, U.S. Political Group 1 leaders observed that it was “more than likely” that the Russian government was using AGMR “to utilize forces inside of the U.S. to sew [sic] division inside the United States.”

    “The impact of Russian malign foreign influence cannot be overstated,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI will aggressively pursue any foreign government that attempts to divide American citizens and poison our democratic process.”

    Ionov used his control over U.S. Political Group 1 leaders to foster discord within the United States, to spread pro-Russian propaganda under the guise of a domestic political organization, and to interfere in local elections. For example, in January 2016, Ionov guaranteed financing for — and ultimately funded — a four-city protest tour undertaken by U.S. Political Group 1 in support of a “Petition on Crime of Genocide against African People in the United States,” which it had previously submitted to the United Nations at Ionov’s direction. Later, in 2017 and 2019, Ionov monitored and supported the St. Petersburg, Florida, political campaigns of UIC-3 and UIC-4. In 2019, before the primary election, Ionov wrote to a Russian official that he had been “consulting every week” on the campaign. After UIC-4 advanced to the general election, FSB Officer 1 wrote to Ionov that “our election campaign is kind of unique,” and asked, “are we the first in history?” Ionov later sent FSB Officer 1 additional details about the election, referring to UIC-4 as the candidate “whom we supervise.”

    According to the indictment, Ionov’s relationship with U.S. Political Group 1 continued until at least March 2022. Specifically, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Political Group 1 repeatedly hosted Ionov via video conference to discuss the war, during which Ionov falsely stated that anyone who supported Ukraine also supported Nazism and white supremacy. In a report to the FSB, Ionov explained that he had enlisted U.S. Political Group 1 to support Russia in the “information war unleashed” by the West.

    Alongside his malign foreign influence efforts with U.S. Political Group 1, Ionov also exercised direction and control over U.S. Political Group 3, an organization based in California whose primary goal was to promote California’s secession from the United States. In January and February of 2018, Ionov supported U.S. Political Group 3’s efforts — led by the organization’s founder (UIC-6)—to orchestrate a protest demonstration at the California Capitol building in Sacramento. Ionov partially funded the efforts and attempted to direct UIC-6 to physically enter the governor’s office. Later, Ionov sent various media reports covering the demonstration and U.S. Political Group 3’s broader efforts to FSB Officer 1, writing that FSB Officer 1 had asked for “turmoil” and stating, “there you go.” 

    According to the indictment, Ionov also directed the efforts of U.S. Political Group 2, based in Atlanta. For example, as recently as March 2022, Ionov paid for members of U.S. Political Group 2 — including its founder (UIC-5) — to travel from Atlanta to San Francisco to protest at the headquarters of a social media company that had placed content restrictions on posts supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ionov sent UIC-5 designs for signs used at the protest and funded cross-country travel for UIC-5 and other members of U.S. Political Group 2. After the protest, Ionov sent UIC-5 a picture of a Russian news website’s social media page, which displayed a Russian-language news story about the protest.   

    Ionov is charged with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet and Risha Asokan, Trial Attorney Menno Goedman of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Trial Attorney Demetrius Sumner of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

    The FBI Tampa Field Office is investigating the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    Source-FBI

  • ASUU Strike-It is a Fight for All and Sundry- Oyo NLC Sec

    The Oyo state Council of the Nigeria Labor Congress(NLC) has called on Nigerians to support concerned citizens to actualize an end to the discouraging attitude of the Federal Government towards the resolution of the lingering industrial action embarked upon by lecturers under the aegies of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU).

    This call was made on Monday by the Secretary of the Union, Comrade Aribatise Adebayo  at state secretariat of the union in Ibadan, Nigeria.

    '' Following the directive of our national leadership on 30th June, 2022, Nigerians ought to join in the solidarity protests with the lecturers. It is a fight for all and sundry,'' Comrade Adebayo stated

  • Some are in Govt for Glamor-Ladoja

    ScienceFormer Oyo state Governor, Senator Rasidi Ladoja has expressed reservations over the wrong attitude of certain political office holders in the Government at all levels.

    Senator Ladoja, who is also the Otun-Olubadan of Ibadanland made this known in an interaction with Journalists on Saturday at his Ondo street, Bodija, Ibadan, Nigeria, home.

    ''We should serve God and serve humanity. Some of us came into government for the glam or the possible money that would be there. We thank God that are still alive this year. We thank God,'' the former Governor stated.

    Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

    -Legalizing Crime and Criminality

    -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

    -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

    -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

  • Causative Factors of Insecurity : The Antidote by Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

    Prof 5The antidote to all forms of insecurity is a functional democracy run through high regards for fairness, justice and equity.
    Any alteration to a functional justice system and equitable distribution of material resources  to the people without marginalization of any kind will ever hurt the polity.
    The Holy Quran 30 : 41-42 refers, ''Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of the need that the hands of many have earned, that Allah may give them a taste of some of their deeds, in order that they may turn back from evil. Say : Travel along the earth and see what was the end of those before you. Most of them were idolaters(driving agents of indiscipline and corruption).
    If the past is bad, sense and sensibilities demand that there must be damage control to correct today's anomalies. The failure to set up this appropriate measure in that respect will impede development.
    Leaders of thought must proceed with sanity promotion exercise using the due process of the culture of integrity, education for civility and development, religion for discipline, moral regulation and control to be able to promote credible leadership, good governance for the wellness of the people in an orderly manner expected of every decent society.
    To say the least, the arrest of offenders must proceed towards  the diligent prosecution of their cases. For example, murder should ordinarily attract the death penalty to curb and prevent  future murderous activities under any guise.
    In Nigeria, for example, no culprit once apprehended must be transferred to Abuja, where often times they are never tried but released to embark again on their aborted missions.
    Read-Profit from this
    If arson, murder, kidnapping and other related crimes are committed in Yorubaland, there is no justified cause to transfer such suspects to Abuja, most especially when it involves indigenes of other states outside the states of the committed crimes. If there is a constitutional bottleneck on it, let it be resolved, restructured and amended immediately.
    The judiciary in a democracy must  be made to be alive for the survival of this political philosophy already adopted to rule over the people.
    The Holy Quran 5 : 8 refers,, ''O ye who believe! Stand out firmly to Allah as witnesses to fear thee, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just, that is next to piety : and fear Allah is well acquainted with all that you do. ''
    Causative factors of insecurity, therefore, such as hunger and poverty have damaged the fabric of democracy for our leaders to go crazy, soaking their hands in indecent acts to promote the culture of timocracy, kelptocracy and ego-centeredness of the medieval times, making the people resort to bestial styles of lfie that has already threatened the glorious peaceful co-existence. There is therefore, a dire need for effective damage control based on doing things accordingly and rightly too, through the fear of Allah as the only antidote.
     

  • Peace and Development require Just Worship by Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

    Prof 5Bad manners corrupt the moral essence of religion and disrupt the expected perfect God/man relation.

    This is the message in the Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 13: 13, that religion as faith would only be functional and beneficial as a constructive environment for peaceful co-existence. 

    ''3 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.''

    For this to happen, individual adherents must offer just worship based on their belief in their creator the almighty God.

    However, all scriptures submit that there can be no development in an environment of chaos, hence love becomes basic and sacrosanct to any religious practice to have an impact on the people and the society.

    In the book of Isaiah 59: 1-4, the readiness of God to accept our offer, provide for us, and protect us from all forms of evil is established as a divine design.

    Peace

    However, divine intervention will never be realized in an environment of iniquities.

    ''1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

    2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

    3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

    4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.''

    The Holy Quran equally corroborates and establishes the importance of love in the life cycle of every person-platonic or otherwise.

    The Holy Quran 30: 21 with the essence of marriage, family cohesion, and a happy home formation as case studies states, ''And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them. And He has put LOVE and MERCY between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect.''

    It is very unfortunate that Nigeria is currently experiencing a gun and sword state of insecurity, where religion is playing a catalyst role to fule the chaos rather than dampening the state of commotion. This is because individual adherents live by hearsay and less of being scripture compliant. Quackery in the houses of God, therefore, offers a satanic state of profanity. This is why the home, society, and the nation are now difficult to be controlled through the moral lessons of the scripture.

    For the world to know peace, and Nigeria to enjoy peaceful co-existence, individual worship must understand the admonitions and guide in the scripture of choice and apply the same to suit real-life situations without going out of bounds of the dictates of God. After all, no religion teaches evil.

  • Oyo ASCSN Resolve to elect Charismatic and Visionary Leadership

    Leadership 1Concerned members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria(ASCSN)(Federal) Oyo state chapter have resolved to collectively work for the emergence of a charismatic leader that is driven by passion.

    Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt                                                       -Legalizing Crime and Criminality
    This resolution was reached at a congress held on Monday at the Federal Secretariat, Ikolaba, Ibadan, Nigeria.
    The concerned members expressed disappointment over the stagnant state of affairs of the union in the state, blaming it on the docile and self-centered personalities who constitute the executive.

    -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality                       

      -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach
    ''We have resolved to work for the election of charismatic and visonray executives who are driven by passion. In the space of just four years, the union is dead in Oyo state. This is sad. The executives are docile. We are ready to join hands together to reverse this ugly trend. The outgoing executives have betrayed our common cause. Nothing has happened that has made workers proud of the union in the last four years. We shall look elsewhere for people who can champion our cause,'' the members concluded.
    Those at the congress included Comrades Andrew Emelieze, Femi Ogunbayo, Adeolu Adedeji, Olanrewaju Osinubi, Paul Balogun, Olaniyi Ajibosho among several others.

    -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate